Tikal in the context of "Uaxactun"

San Bartolo is a small pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site located in the Department of Petén in northern Guatemala, northeast of Tikal and roughly fifty miles from the nearest settlement. San Bartolo's fame derives from its splendid Late-Preclassic mural paintings still heavily influenced by Olmec tradition and from examples of early Maya script.

The Mayan architecture of the Maya civilization spans across several thousands of years, several eras of political change, and architectural innovation before the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Often, the buildings most dramatic and easily recognizable as creations of the Maya peoples are the step pyramids of the Terminal Preclassic Maya period and beyond. Based in general Mesoamerican architectural traditions, the Maya utilized geometric proportions and intricate carving to build everything from simple houses to ornate temples. This article focuses on the more well-known pre-classic and classic examples of Maya architecture. The temples like the ones at Palenque, Tikal, and Uxmal represent a zenith of Maya art and architecture. Through the observation of numerous elements and stylistic distinctions, remnants of Maya architecture have become an important key to understanding their religious beliefs and culture as a whole.

The Petén Basin is a geographical subregion of the Maya Lowlands, primarily located in northern Guatemala within the Department of El Petén, and into the state of Campeche in southeastern Mexico.

During the Late Preclassic and Classic periods of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican chronology many major centers of the Maya civilization flourished, such as Tikal and Calakmul. A distinctive Petén-style of Maya architecture and inscriptions arose. The archaeological sites La Sufricaya and Holmul are also located in this region.

Palenque (Spanish pronunciation: [pa'leŋke]; Yucatec Maya: Bàakʼ [ɓaːkʼ]), also anciently known in the Itza Language as Lakamha ("big water" or "big waters"), was a Maya city-state in southern Mexico that perished in the 8th century. The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. 799 AD. After its decline, it was overgrown by the jungle of cedar, mahogany, and sapodilla trees, but has since been excavated and restored. It is located near the Usumacinta River in the Mexican state of Chiapas, about 130 km (81 mi) south of Ciudad del Carmen, 150 meters (490 ft) above sea level. It is adjacent to the modern town of Palenque, Chiapas. It averages a humid 26 °C (79 °F) with roughly 2,160 millimeters (85 in) of rain a year.

Palenque is a medium-sized site, smaller than Tikal, Chichen Itza, or Copán, but it contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and bas-relief carvings that the Mayas produced. Much of the history of Palenque has been reconstructed from reading the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the many monuments; historians now have a long sequence of the ruling dynasty of Palenque in the 5th century and extensive knowledge of the city-state's rivalry with other states such as Calakmul and Toniná. The most famous ruler of Palenque was Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal, or Pacal the Great, whose tomb has been found and excavated in the Temple of the Inscriptions. By 2005, the discovered area covered up to 2.5 km (0.97 sq mi), but it is estimated that less than 10% of the total area of the city is explored, leaving more than a thousand structures still covered by jungle. Palenque received 920,470 visitors in 2017.

Uxmal (Yucatec Maya: Óoxmáal [óˑʃmáˑl]) is an ancient Maya city of the classical period located in present-day Mexico. It is considered one of the most important archaeological sites of Maya culture, along with Palenque, Chichen Itza and Calakmul in Mexico, Caracol and Xunantunich in Belize, and Tikal in Guatemala. It is located in the Puuc region of the western Yucatán Peninsula, and is considered one of the Maya cities most representative of the region's dominant architectural style. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the nearby ruins of Kabah, Sayil and Labna.

Uxmal is located 62 km south of Mérida, capital of Yucatán state in Mexico. Its buildings are noted for their size and decoration. Ancient roads called sacbes connect the buildings, and also were built to other cities in the area such as Chichén Itzá in modern-day Mexico, Caracol and Xunantunich in modern-day Belize, and Tikal in modern-day Guatemala.

A twin-pyramid complex or twin-pyramid group was an architectural innovation of the Maya civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. Twin-pyramid complexes were regularly built at the great city of Tikal in the central Petén Basin of Guatemala to celebrate the end of the 20-year kʼatun cycle of the Maya Long Count Calendar. A twin-pyramid complex has been identified at Yaxha, a large city that was 30 kilometres (19 mi) to the southeast of Tikal. Another has been mapped at Ixlu, and Zacpeten appears also to possess at least one twin-pyramid complex and possibly two. These examples outside of Tikal itself indicate that their cities were closely linked to Tikal politically.

The basic layout of a twin-pyramid complex consists of identical pyramids on the east and west sides of a small plaza, with a walled enclosure to the north housing a sculpted stela-altar pair and a range building to the south. Plain monuments were generally raised at the foot of the east pyramid. The term "twin-pyramid complex" was first used in 1956 by Edwin M. Shook when he recognised that five such groups conformed to a similar architectural pattern.

Maya cities were the centres of population of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica. They served the specialised roles of administration, commerce, manufacturing and religion that characterised ancient cities worldwide. Maya cities tended to be more dispersed than cities in other societies, even within Mesoamerica, as a result of adaptation to a lowland tropical environment that allowed food production amidst areas dedicated to other activities. They lacked the grid plans of the highland cities of central Mexico, such as Teotihuacán and Tenochtitlan. Maya monarchs ruled their kingdoms from palaces that were situated within the centre of their cities. Cities tended to be located in places that controlled trade routes or that could supply essential products. This allowed the elites that controlled trade to increase their wealth and status. Such cities were able to construct temples for public ceremonies, thus attracting further inhabitants to the city. Those cities that had favourable conditions for food production, combined with access to trade routes, were likely to develop into the capital cities of early Maya states.

The political relationship between Classic Maya city-states has been likened to the relationships between city-states in Classical Greece and Renaissance Italy. Some cities were linked to each other by straight limestone causeways, known as sacbeob, although whether the exact function of these roads was commercial, political or religious has not been determined.

Allspice, also known as Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or pimento, is the dried unripe berry of Pimenta dioica, a midcanopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the world. The name allspice was coined as early as 1621 by the English, who valued it as a spice that combined the flavours of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. Contrary to common misconception, it is not a mixture of spices.

Several unrelated fragrant shrubs are called "Carolina allspice" (Calycanthus floridus), "Japanese allspice" (Chimonanthus praecox), or "wild allspice" (Lindera benzoin).

The 700s decade ran from January 1, 700, to December 31, 709.

• Avar and Slavic tribes conquer Byzantine territories in the Balkans, occupying lands as far south as the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece (approximate date).

• King Cunipert dies after a 12-year reign, and is succeeded by his son Liutpert. He rules the Lombard Kingdom together with Ansprand, duke of Asti, as regent.
• Raginpert, duke of Turin, deposes King Liutpert after an eight months' reign. He usurps the Lombard throne and puts his son Aripert in line for the succession.
• Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the palace, extends the Frankish Kingdom and annexes Thuringia. He turns the war towards the Alemanni (approximate date).

• King Geraint of Dumnonia receives a letter from Aldhelm, bishop of Sherborne, who insists that the Celtic Church comply with the doctrines of Rome.
• King Ine of Wessex begins to dispense with Wessex sub-kings and replace them with ealdormen (approximate date).
• The Eóganachta, an Irish dynasty centred around Cashel, begins to dominate southern Ireland (approximate date).
• Hamwic emerges as a major Wessex trading town (approximate date).

• Mohammad ibn al-Ash'ath revolts against Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan in the Sistan and Balochistan regions (Iran).
• The Umayyad prince Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik captures the Byzantine stronghold of Theodosiopolis in Armenia.
• Musa ibn Nusayr defeats the Berber forces in Algeria, ending resistance against the Arabs (approximate date).
• The African slave trade through the Sahara is so extensive that the town of Zawila (Tunisia) is established.

• Maya civilization: Tikal Temple I, called the "Temple of the Giant Jaguar" (tomb of Jasaw Chan Kʼawiil I), Tikal, (Guatemala), is built.
• Diquis culture (modern Costa Rica) starts in Central America (approximate date).

• The Mount Edziza volcanic complex erupts in northern British Columbia, Canada.

• The Wariʼ people invade and occupy the Cuzco Valley (modern Peru) in the southern highlands (approximate date).
• The Moche culture in the northern part of modern day Peru collapses, largely due to environmental problems and/or political and social unrest (approximate date).

• The Amida Buddha, a fresco in the kon-dō (Hōryū-ji Temple), is made (Nara period) (approximate date).

• Adomnán, Irish abbot, convinces 51 kings to adopt the Cáin Adomnáin, which defines the relationship between women and priests.
• Queen Cuthburh of Northumbria enters religious life. The Anglo-Saxon religious community at St. Mary's Nunnery is re-founded.
• Willibrord, Anglo-Saxon missionary, founds a mission post at Emmerich am Rhein (Germany), in the Utrecht Diocese.
• The Beverley Grammar School (East Yorkshire) is founded by bishop John of Beverley (approximate date).
• The Lindisfarne Gospels, an illuminated manuscript (Gospel Book), is produced in Northumbria.
• The famous Catholic Eucharistic Miracle occurs in Lanciano (Italy).

• Raginpert dies, and King Liutpert (succeeded and deposed in 700) returns to the throne of the Lombards. Raginpert's son Aripert captures Liutpert at his capital in Pavia, and will have him strangled in his bath. Aripert becomes new ruler of the Lombard Kingdom in Italy.
• King Egica dies, possibly assassinated in a plot led by Roderic. He is succeeded by his son Wittiza as king of the Visigoths (approximate date).

• Asparuh, founder of the First Bulgarian Empire, dies after a 20-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Tervel, who becomes ruler (khan) of the Bulgarians.

• Battle of Dayr al-Jamajim: Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan sends Syrian troops to reinforce the Muslim army of Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf. He faces a 200,000-man army under Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath near Kufa (modern Iraq). Al-Ash'ath is defeated, and his rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate fails.
• Arab conquest of Armenia: Umayyad prince Muhammad ibn Marwan invades the Byzantine Armenian provinces east of the Euphrates; local commander Baanes surrenders before a large Arab army, and the population accepts a Muslim governor.
• Muslims from the Arabian Peninsula destroy the then-Axum-controlled port of Adulis, thus causing the decline of Ethiopian Christianity on the African Red Sea coast (approximate date).
• Arab merchants introduce Oriental spices into Mediterranean markets. Muslim merchant vessels visit the Maluku Islands (South East Asia) for the first time (approximate date).

• The Gagakuryo (Bureau of Court Music) is formed at the Imperial Court in Kyoto. Numerous types of music and dance are performed.
• Emperor Monmu becomes sole proprietor of all the nation's land, through a codification of political law (Code of Taihō).

• September 8 – Pope Sergius I dies at Rome after a 14-year reign. He is succeeded by John VI as the 85th pope of the Catholic Church.

• Hedan II, duke of Thuringia, completes the circular Marienkirche, in Fortress Marienberg near Würzburg (Germany).

• Arab conquest of Armenia: Large-scale Armenian rebellion against Muslim rule breaks out, with Byzantine support.
• Muslim-Arabs under Musa ibn Nusayr conquer Tangier and Sous, taking control of all Morocco (approximate date).
• Ethiopian (Axumite) raiders occupy the port of Jeddah (modern Saudi Arabia).

• February 20 – Kʼinich Kan Bahlam II, ruler (ajaw) of Palenque, dies after an 18-year reign. He is succeeded by his brother Kʼinich Kʼan Joy Chitam II.

• Berhtwald, archbishop of Canterbury, calls the Council of Austerfield to decide the rights of Wilfrid, some-time bishop of York. He is offered Ripon Abbey if he will relinquish his claims as bishop. Wilfrid rejects this offer and appeals to Rome.

• Arab–Byzantine War: The Umayyad army under Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik captures Mopsuestia in Cilicia from the Byzantines, and refortifies it, making it the first major Muslim stronghold in the area that will later become the Thughur.
• Musa ibn Nusayr, governor of Ifriqiya (western Libya), builds a Muslim fleet to harass the Byzantine navy and conquer the islands of Ibiza, Mallorca, and Menorca (approximate date).

• Faroald II, duke of Spoleto, attacks the Exarchate of Ravenna in Italy, after the death of his father Thrasimund I. King Aripert II of the Lombards, desiring good relations with the Byzantine Empire and papacy, refuses to assist him.

• High King Loingsech mac Óengusso and his forces are routed during an invasion of Connacht (Ireland). He is killed by the men of King Cellach mac Rogallaig (approximate date).

• Wilfrid, Anglo-Saxon bishop, travels to Rome again, and is supported in his struggle to retain his see of York by the pope. On his way Wilfrid stops in Frisia (modern Netherlands), to visit Willibrord.
• Elias I becomes Catholicos of All Armenians.

• After spending nearly a decade with the Khazars (a Turkic tribe which controls a Steppe empire), the deposed emperor Justinian II flees from his exile at Cherson (Crimea). He escapes with help from Busir, ruler (khagan) of the Khazars, who marries him to his sister Theodora.
• Autumn – Emperor Tiberios III tries to bribe Busir and dispatches two Khazar officials, Papatzys and Balgitzin, to kill Justinian. Warned by his wife, he flees to the Bulgar Khanate, securing the assistance of the Bulgarian ruler Tervel, in exchange for financial considerations.
• Arab–Byzantine War: A Byzantine expeditionary force under Heraclius (brother of Tiberios III) defeats and destroys an Umayyad army (10,000 men) at Sisium (modern Turkey) under Yazid ibn Hunayn, killing most and leading the others off in chains to Constantinople.

• King Æthelred I abdicates the throne after a 30-year reign and becomes an abbot at Bardney (Lincolnshire). He is succeeded by his nephew Cenred (Coenred), a son of the late king Wulfhere, who becomes ruler of Mercia.
• December 14 – King Aldfrith of Northumbria dies after a 20-year reign. His throne is seized by Eadwulf I, of unknown descent. Wilfrid travels to Driffield to support Eadwulf, but his advances are rejected (approximate date).

• Arab conquest of Armenia: The Muslim Arabs under Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik (a son of caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan) invade Armenia and subdue the anti-Arab revolt along with his uncle Muhammad ibn Marwan.
• Winter – Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik is recalled from Armenia to serve as governor of Egypt. He requires that government business be done in Arabic instead of Coptic. His tenure is marred by famine and corruption.

• Emperor Tridu Songtsen dies in battle, and is succeeded by his mother Khri ma lod, who becomes de facto ruler of the Tibetan Empire. She begins a massive expansion into the Tarim Basin and Northern China.

• Spring – An army of 15,000 Bulgar and Slav horsemen under Justinian II appear before the walls of Constantinople. After three days, his troops discover an unused water conduit under the walls of the city, and enter through the Valens Aqueduct. Hearing that Justinian has taken control of the Blachernae Palace, Emperor Tiberios III flees to Bithynia (modern Turkey), where he evades capture for several months.
• Justinian II ascends to the throne again and rewards his ally Tervel, ruler (khagan) of the Bulgarian Empire, for his assistance with the title of kaisar (Caesar), which makes him second only to Justinian and the first foreign ruler in Byzantine history to receive such a title, and a territorial concession in northeastern Thrace, a region called Zagora in modern-day Bulgaria.

• Duke Gisulf I of Benevento captures the cities of Sora, Arpino, and Arce (Central Italy). He marches as far as Horrea, plundering and burning, before he is confronted with gifts by the ambassadors of Pope John VI, who ransom many of his captives.

• King Ine of Wessex becomes estranged from the kings Sigeheard and Swæfred of Essex, who are sheltering exiled rivals to the Wessex throne. At a council at Brentford, the latter agree to banish the exiles in return for Ine not attacking their kingdom.
• Prince Osred of Northumbria, assisted by ealdorman, defeats the usurper Eadwulf I. He becomes king at the age of nine; the government is controlled by the powerful bishop Wilfrid.
• King Geraint of Dumnonia grants land at Maker (Cornwall) to Sherborne Abbey, in an attempt to strengthen his position in the disputed regions of Dorset (approximate date).

• Arab forces gain power in Central Asia, as Qutayba ibn Muslim becomes governor of Khorasan. The region has grown rich from trade with China and Eastern Europe, its merchants dealing in silk, furs, amber, honey, and walrus ivory. During his rule, Qutayba subjugates the mercantile cities of Bukhara and Samarkand (modern Uzbekistan), as well as the Oxus delta area of Khwarezm, south of the Aral Sea.
• October 8 – Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan dies in his winter resort at Al-Sinnabra (Palestine), after a 20-year reign. During his rule, the financial administration of the Umayyad Caliphate has been reorganized. Arab coins have replaced former Byzantine and Sassanian coins, and regular postal service has been established between Damascus and the provincial capitals. Abd al-Malik is succeeded by his son Al-Walid I.
• Arab conquest of Armenia: Large-scale Armenian rebellion is suppressed by Muhammad ibn Marwan. He captures and deports Smbat VI Bagratuni and other leading princes. Many of the captured nakharar are gathered into churches and burned alive at Nakhchevan (modern Azerbaijan).
• Arab general Musa ibn Nusayr conquers the city of Tlemcen in Algeria; once and for all solidifying Al-Maghreb Al-Awsat (Modern-day Algeria), which makes way for the stabilization of the entirety of North Africa a couple years later.

• February 22 – Empress Wu Zetian is deposed in a coup d'état organized by her chancellor Zhang Jianzhi, after a 15-year reign. His chief ministers gain support from some generals to seize the imperial palace and execute the Zhang brothers. They reinstall her son Zhong Zong, whom she deposed 15 years ago, restoring the Tang dynasty. This marks the end of the short-lived Zhou dynasty in China.
• Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, a hot spring hotel, is founded in Hayakawa, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. It is the oldest hotel in the world and has been operated by the same family for 52 generations.

• January 11 – Pope John VI dies at Rome, after a reign of little more than 3 years. During his rule, he protected the Byzantine exarch Theophylactus, when he invaded the Italian mainland from Sicily. He also induced Gisulf I, Lombard duke of Benevento, to withdraw from Byzantine territory, ransomed captives and ordered the restoration of Wilfrid, as deposed bishop of York. He is succeeded by John VII as the 86th pope of the Catholic Church.
• Al-Walid I commissions the construction of Al-Aqsa Mosque located in the Old City of Jerusalem (approximate date).

• February 15 – Emperor Justinian II presides over the public humiliation of his predecessors, Leontios and Tiberios III, and their chief associates in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, after which they are executed. Patriarch Kallinikos I is also deposed, blinded and exiled to Rome, and succeeded by Kyros.

• Duke Corvulus of Friuli is arrested by King Aripert II of the Lombards, and has his eyes gouged out. He is replaced by Pemmo, who begins a war against the Slavs of Carinthia (modern Austria).

• July 2 – Emperor Zhong Zong has the remains of his mother and recently deceased ruling empress Wu Zetian, her son Li Xian, her grandson Li Chongrun, and granddaughter Li Xianhui, all interred in the same tomb complex as his father and Wu Zetian's husband Gao Zong, outside Chang'an, known as the Qianling Mausoleum, located on Mount Liang, which will then remain unopened until 1960.

• Berhtwald, archbishop of Canterbury, is obliged by the pope's insistence to call the Synod of Nidd (Northumbria).
• Caliph Al-Walid I commissions the construction of the Great Mosque of Damascus (Syria).

• Arab–Byzantine War: An Umayyad army under Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik invades Asia Minor, and lays siege to Tyana (Cappadocia). The fortress city resists, dragging the siege through the winter and into 708.

• The Muslim-Arabs conquer the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea (approximate date).
• The first Islamic hospital (bimaristan) is founded in Damascus (approximate date).

• July 18 – Emperor Monmu dies after a 10-year reign. He is succeeded by his aunt Genmei, who becomes the 43rd empress of Japan. She is the sister of former empress Jitō, and the niece and wife of late emperor Tenmu.

• October 18 – Pope John VII dies at Rome after a 19-month reign. A prolonged sede vacante exists, until the ratification of the election of Sisinnius by the Exarch of Ravenna, in early 708.

• Arab–Byzantine War: The Umayyads under Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik capture and sack the Byzantine city of Tyana (Cappadocia) after a prolonged siege, and following a victory over a Byzantine relief army. Maslamah also leads another expedition in the summer, raiding and conquering Amorium (modern Turkey).

• Battle of Anchialus: A Byzantine expeditionary force under Emperor Justinian II is defeated near the seaside city of Anchialus, on the Black Sea Coast. The Byzantines are overwhelmed by a surprise attack of Bulgarian cavalry, led by Tervel. Justinian manages to reach the fortress, and escapes to Constantinople on a ship.

• Nazaktar Khan, a Turk Shahi prince in alliance with the Tibetan Empire, captures Bactria from the Umayyads.
• August 29 – Copper coins are minted in Japan for the first time (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 708).

• Tea drinking gains popularity among the Chinese. It is also valued for its alleged medicinal values (approximate date).

• January 15 – Pope Sisinnius succeeds Pope John VII as the 87th pope.
• March 25 – Pope Constantine I succeeds Pope Sisinnius as the 88th pope.
• Island Mont Tombe is dedicated to Michael and renamed Mont Saint-Michel.

• June – Emperor Justinian II sends a punitive expedition to Italy under the patrikios Theodore, to intervene in the dispute between Pope Constantine I and Archbishop Felix of Ravenna, who claims to be independent of the pope's authority. Theodore captures Ravenna, and arrests Felix and other Italian leaders. He deports them to Constantinople, from whence they are exiled to Cherson (Crimea).

• Ceolred becomes king of Mercia, after his cousin Coenred abdicates the throne. Dynastic rivalries lead to the banishment of his second cousin, prince Æthelbald, who flees to the East Anglian controlled Crowland Fens.
• Kings Swæfred and Sigeheard of Essex share power with Offa. He abdicates the throne in order to become a monk in Rome, along with Coenred. Saelred rules jointly with Swæfberht the sub-kingdom of Middlesex.

• Arab–Byzantine War: An Umayyad army under Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik raids Isauria (modern Turkey). He is appointed military governor of Armenia and Azerbaijan, succeeding his uncle Muhammad ibn Marwan.
• After two years of failed efforts, Qutayba ibn Muslim captures Bukhara (Uzbekistan) for the Umayyad Caliphate. The Hephthalite princes of Tokharistan rebel against the Arabs, but are swiftly subdued by Qutayba.

• Mont Saint-Michel, built by Aubert, bishop of Avranches, has its beginnings in an oratory on Mont Tombe, on the coast of Normandy (approximate date).

• A storm separates the Channel Islands of Jethou and Herm.

The Yax Kuk Mo dynasty was the royal house that reigned in the city-state of Copan (Oxwitik) for four centuries. This was installed in the city in the year 426 AD, due to Teotihuacan influence and military support from the ruler Sihyaj Chan K'awiil II of Tikal, who ruled between the 5th and 9th centuries. The architectural works (buildings, pyramids, statues, temples, altars and sports centers) built in Copán during the rule of the Yax K'uk Mo' dynasty are preserved to this day, being accessible to the general public. Yax Kuk Mo In mayan means First Quetzal Macaw.

Tikal National Park is a national park located in Guatemala, in the northern region of the Petén Department. Stretching across 57,600 hectares (220 sq mi), it contains the ancient Mayan city of Tikal and the surrounding tropical forests, savannas, and wetlands. In 1979, Tikal National Park was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, because of the outstanding Mesoamerican ruins at Tikal and the unique ecology of the surrounding landscape.

Seibal (Spanish pronunciation: [sejˈβal]), known as El Ceibal in Spanish, is a Classic Period archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the northern Petén Department of Guatemala, about 100 km SW of Tikal. It was the largest city in the Pasión River region.

The site was occupied from the Preclassic Period through to the Terminal Classic, with a significant hiatus. The principal phase of occupation dates to the Late Preclassic (400 BC – AD 200), followed by a decline in the Early Classic (AD 200–600). Seibal experienced a significant recovery in the Terminal Classic immediately prior to its complete abandonment, reaching its second peak from about 830 to 890, with a population estimated at 8–10,000 people. The dates on the stelae at Seibal are unusually late, with monuments still being dedicated after the Classic Maya collapse had engulfed most of the Petén region. Many of Seibal's late monuments show artistic influence from central Mexico and from the Gulf Coast of Mexico.

The roof comb (or roof-comb) is the structure that tops a pyramid in monumental Mesoamerican architecture. Typically, the roof combs crowned the summit of pyramids and other structures; they consisted of two pierced framework walls which leaned on one another. This framework was covered by plaster decorated with artist depictions of gods or important rulers. Examination of the sections and iconography of Maya civilization roof-combs indicates that each icon had specific sacred meanings.

The 620s decade ran from January 1, 620, to December 31, 629.

• Byzantine–Sassanid War: King Khosrau II captures Ancyra, an important Byzantine military base in central Anatolia. After the conquest of Egypt and Palestine, he restores the Persian Empire as it existed in 490 BC under Darius I.
• The Slavs invade the area around Thessaloniki, which is unsuccessfully besieged. The city becomes a Byzantine enclave surrounded by Slavic territory. Urban life disappears and many towns in the Balkan Peninsula become villages.

• The Angles under King Edwin of Northumbria invade Rheged ("Old North") in Northern England, and expel King Llywarch Hen. He flees to Powys, and becomes a famous bard. Edwin's armies fight against Gododdin and Strathclyde.

• King Pulakeshin II defeats the Harsha army on the banks of the Narmada River. Harsha loses a major part of his elephant force and retreats. A truce establishes Narmada as the northern boundary of the Chalukya Kingdom (India).

• The town of Cholula is founded in central Mexico (later said to be the oldest continuously occupied town in all of North America).

• Weltenburg Abbey in Bavaria (Germany) is founded by Benedictine monks.
• Isra and Mi'raj (Muhammad's ascension to heaven to meet God).

• Emperor Heraclius concludes a peace agreement (in exchange for an annual tribute) with the Avars on the Balkan Peninsula, giving him a free hand to assemble Byzantine forces in Asia Minor, for non-military expenditure against the Persian Empire.
• The city of Málaga, in southern Spain in the province of Spania, is conquered by the Visigoths.

• King Sisebut dies after a 9-year reign and is succeeded by his son Reccared II (just a child). Reccared is placed on the throne by the Visigothic nobility, but dies after two months. Suintila, his half-uncle and regent, becomes king of the Visigothic Kingdom.

• Emperor Gaozu delegates control of his military and civil administration in the east to his second son, Li Shimin. He concentrates on reforming coinage (→ Kaiyuan Tongbao) and taxation.
• May 28 – Battle of Hulao: Li Shimin defeats the numerically superior army of Dou Jiande near the Hulao Pass.
• June 4 – Wang Shichong, self-declared emperor, surrenders to Li Shimin at Luoyang following Dou Jiande's defeat. Gaozu spares his life, but he is later assassinated.

• Islamic tradition says Muhammad visited heaven aboard the winged mount Buraq, in the Isra wal-Miraj, (the Night Journey), from Mecca to Jerusalem, then to heaven from Jerusalem's Temple Mount, then back to Mecca.

• The Chinese establish an imperial bureau for the manufacture of porcelain. Their technology will advance further under the Tang dynasty (approximate date).

• Byzantine–Sasanian War: Emperor Heraclius sails from Constantinople with an expeditionary force (probably 50,000 men), and starts a counter-offensive against the Persian Empire (his young son, Constantine III, is left behind as regent under the charge of Sergius I, patriarch of Constantinople, and patrician Bonus). He lands a few days later at the junction of Cilicia and Syria, near Alexandretta and ancient Issus.
• Battle of Issus: Heraclius defeats the Persian forces under Shahrbaraz in Cappadocia. He recaptures Anatolia, but returns to Constantinople to deal with the threat posed to his Balkan domains by the Avars, and puts the Byzantine army into winter quarters in Pontus.

• The Western Turks conquer the Oxus valley and cooperate with Heraclius against Persia, taking Khorasan (modern Afghanistan).

• March 28 – Tajoom Ukʼab Kʼahkʼ becomes the ruler of the Mayan city state of Calakmul in southern Mexico and reigns until 630.

• September 9 or June 17 – The Islamic prophet Muhammad, after being commanded by God Almighty, secretly leaves his home in Mecca to make the Hijrah (emigrate) to Yathrib (later renamed by him Medina), along with his companion Abu Bakr. They take refuge in the Cave of Thawr south of Mecca for three days, departing on September 13 or June 21.
• September 20 or June 28 – Muhammad does not enter Yathrib directly, but stops at its outlying environs of Quba. He establishes the Quba Mosque here, the first mosque of Islam. On July 2 (or September 24) he makes his first visit to Yathrib for Friday prayers.
• October 4 or July 13 – After a fourteen days' stay in Quba, Muhammad finally moves from Quba to Yathrib, and is greeted cordially by its people. Here he drafts the Constitution of Medina, an agreement between the various Muslim, Jewish, Christian and pagan tribal communities in the city, forming the basis of a multi-religious Islamic state, and begins construction of the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi Mosque. Later during the caliphate of Umar in 638, the lunar year during which the emigration to Medina occurred (Friday 16 July 622 – 4 July 623) is designated "Year One" of the new Hijri era (Anno Hegirae – AH).
• Xuanzang is fully ordained as a Buddhist monk at the age of 20.

• Byzantine–Sassanid War: Emperor Heraclius invades Armenia, leaving his son Constantine (age 11) and co-regent Bonus to defend Constantinople against the Persians still at Chalcedon (modern Turkey). He sails with 5,000 reinforcements to join the Byzantine army at Trapezus. Raising additional forces in Pontus, Heraclius strikes through the mountains of Armenia and the northern sub-Caucasian principalities. He plunders Media (Azerbaijan), and avoids the Persian armies who attempt to trap him.

• King Clothar II gives Austrasia to his son Dagobert I, age 20, effectively granting the kingdom semi-autonomy in repayment for the support of its nobles, most notably Pepin of Landen (Mayor of the Palace), and in recognition of calls from the Austrasians for a king of their own. Arnulf, bishop of Metz, becomes advisor to Dagobert.
• Samo, reputedly a Frankish merchant, is elected king of the Slavs in Moravia, Slovakia and Lower Austria. A string of victories over the Avars proves his utilitas (usefulness) to his subjects, and he secures the throne to establish his own kingdom, which stretches from the upper Elbe to the Danube.

• Tuyuhun invasion of Gansu: Tang forces under Chai Shao defeat the Tuyuhun, and prevent further incursions into Gansu (China).

• Tori Busshi makes "Shaka Triad", in the kon-dō of Hōryū-ji, during the Asuka period (approximate date).

• The Jewish community in Medina (Saudi Arabia) rejects the idea of Muhammad being a leader of Judaism. He and his followers stop bowing toward Jerusalem and start bowing toward Ka'ba.

• January 26 – (29 Rajab 2 AH) The Raid on Nakhla, the first successful raid the Muslims of Medina, against the Quraysh tribe in Mecca, is carried out by Abd Allah ibn Jahsh, who leads the plunder of a caravan of supplies.
• February 11 – While praying in the Masjid al-Qiblatayn in Medina, the Prophet Muhammad receives revelations from God on the qibla, the direction of prayer, that he should be facing Mecca rather than Jerusalem during prayer, beginning an Islamic tradition.
• February – Chinese General Li Daliang leads an army to retake the Yu prefecture, near Xuancheng in what is now the Anhui province, from the rebel leader Fu Gongshi.
• March 13 – (17 Ramadah 2 AH) The Battle of Badr takes place in what is now Saudi Arabia as the Prophet Muhammad and some 300 of his followers from Medina surprise a reinforced Meccan caravan at Badr (modern-day Saudi Arabia) returning from Syria, and defeat about 1,000 Quraysh from Mecca. After having heard that clan leader Abu Sufyan is escorting a rich trade caravan, Muhammad has the wells along its route (southwest of Medina) filled with sand in order to lure him into battle.
• March 25 – Heraclius, Emperor of Byzantium, departs from his capital at Constantinople (now Istanbul in Turkey) with his wife, the Empress Martina, and two of his children, and does not return for more than four years.
• April 9 – (15 Shawwal 2 AH) The Siege of Banu Qaynuqa is started by the Muslims in what is now Yathrib in Saudi Arabia, four days after Ghalib ibn Abd Allah al-Laythi is dispatched by the prophet Muhammad.
• April 15 – Emperor Haraclius celebrates Easter at Nicomedia (now İzmit) then travels to Caesarea (now Kayseri), proceeding during April to Theodosiopolis. He leads troops into Armenia and sacks its capital, Dvin.
• April 20 – (27th day of the 3rd month of the 6th year of the Wu'de era) Du Fuwei, a Chinese prince who rebelled against Sui dynasty China and then was rewarded with the title "Prince of Wu" by Emperor Gaozu of Tang, dies suddenly of poisoning, under suspicion that he has been ordered killed by the Emperor.
• April 20 – Heraclius invades the Sassanid Empire (now Iran).
• April 24 – St. Justus is appointed as the new Archbishop of Canterbury by Pope Boniface V upon the death of Archbishop Mellitus., receiving the pallium — symbol of the jurisdiction entrusted to archbishops. He oversees the dispatch of missionaries to Northumbria in northern England to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity.
• June 23 – While at Ganzak at what is now northwest Iran, the Sassanid Emperor Khosrow II (Chosroes) is informed by soldiers who had escaped capture that Emperor Heraclius of Byzantium is preparing a surprise attack. Khosrow dispatches an envoy to inform General Shahrbaraz to abandon a campaign in Asia Minor and to accompany him to face Heraclius.
• June – (Dhu al-Hijjah AH 2) The Invasion of Sawiq is carried out against the Muslims by the Quraysh leader, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb.

• August 12 – The Army of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, led by Illig Qaghan, clashes with the army of Tang dynasty China, led by Taizong, Prince of Qin and son of Emperor Gaozu, with fighting taking place west of Binzhou in what is now the Shandong province.
• August – Upon the death of Khunays ibn Hudhafa, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad, Khunays's widow Hafsa bint Umar becomes eligible to marry Muhammad.
• November 11 – (9th B'ak'tun, 9th K'atun,9th year, 12th month, 3rd day) In what is now Guatemala, a stele is carved to honor a victory in battle by Kʼinich Yoʼnal Ahk I, the Mayan ruler of Piedras Negras
• November –
  • Zayd ibn Haritha, the Sahabi and military commander for the prophet Muhammadis sent on an expedition to Dhat Irq near Mecca. He then carries out the Al-Qarada raid of a caravan of Meccan merchants after discovering their trade route and captures more that 100,000 dirhams worth of goods
• December 21 – A group of 1,000 Muslims from Mecca, led by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, sets out from Mecca to capture Medina, defended by the Banu Khazraj tribe, led by Abd Allah ibn Ubayy. The two forces will fight combat three months later, on March 23, 625, at the Battle of Uhud.

• Byzantine–Sasanian War: Emperor Heraclius advances with an expeditionary force (40,000 men) along the Araxes River, destroying the fortress city of Dvin, capital of Armenia, and Nakhchivan (modern Azerbaijan). At Ganzak, Heraclius defeats the Persian army and destroys the famous fire temple at Takht-e Soleymān, an important Zoroastrian shrine. He winters his army in Caucasian Albania to gather forces for the next year.
• Winter – King Khosrow II withdraws most of his troops from Chalcedon (Anatolia); he assembles three armies to trap and destroy Heraclius' forces.

• The Visigoths under King Suintila recapture the Byzantine territories of Spania (Andalusia), after 70 years of occupation. Only the Balearic Islands stay a part of the Byzantine Empire.

• Eorpwald succeeds his father Rædwald, as king (bretwalda) of the independent Kingdom of East Anglia (approximate date). Raedwald is regarded as the most likely occupant of the Sutton Hoo ship-burial which contains the Sutton Hoo helmet.

• The Yiwen Leiju encyclopedia is completed during the Tang dynasty, by the Chinese calligrapher Ouyang Xun.

• Byzantine–Sassanid War: Emperor Heraclius marches with his forces westward, through the mountains of Corduene. The Persians go into winter quarters nearby, but Heraclius attacks them at Tigranakert (Kingdom of Armenia), routing the forces of the generals Shahin Vahmanzadegan and Shahraplakan. In less than seven days, he bypasses Mount Ararat and captures the strategic fortresses of Amida along the Arsanias River, and Martyropolis on the upper Tigris. The Persian army in northern Mesopotamia withdraws westward across the Euphrates. Heraclius pursues into Cilicia, accompanied by a great train of booty.
• Battle of Sarus: Heraclius is victorious in a Byzantine assault river crossing. The reinforced Persians under Shahrbaraz are defeated along the Sarus River, near Adana (modern Turkey). Heraclius recaptures Cappadocia and Pontus, and returns to Trapezus to spend the winter. Shahrbaraz retreats in good order, and is able to continue his advance through Asia Minor towards Constantinople.

• King Edwin of Northumbria marries Æthelburga of Kent. As a Christian, she brings her personal chaplain, Paulinus, and encourages her husband to convert to Christianity.
• King Cadfan of Gwynedd dies and is buried at Llangadwaladr, where his memorial stone can still be seen. He is succeeded by his son Cadwallon (approximate date).
• Judicaël becomes high king of Domnonée (northern Brittany).

• King Pulakeshin II of Chalukya receives Persian envoys, who are sent by King Khosrau II at Badami (southern India).

• March 19 – Battle of Uhud: Muhammad retreats against the inhabitants of Mecca (Saudi Arabia), which they consider a victory.
• October 25 – Pope Boniface V dies at Rome after a 6-year reign. He is succeeded by Honorius I as the 70th pope.

• Siege of Constantinople: A horde of Avars, consisting of about 80,000 men (including large contingents of Slavs, Bulgars, and other "barbarians"), attack the walls of Constantinople. A small Persian army arrives on the Bosphorus, on the Asiatic side. The Theodosian Walls are stormed with the most up-to-date siege equipment, in the form of traction trebuchets. The Avars also have mobile armoured shelters (medieval 'sows') and siege towers; the latter are covered in hides for fire protection. The defense of the capital (12,000 well-trained Byzantine troops) is in the hands of Patriarch Sergius I and Bonus (magister militum).
• July 31 – The Avars and Persian allies under Shahrbaraz launch an attack along the entire length of the Theodosian Walls (about 5.7 kilometres); the main effort is concentrated against the central section, particularly the low-lying mesoteichion. After a fierce infantry battle on the walls, the Byzantine army holds off many assaults on the city. Emperor Heraclius makes arrangements for a new army under his brother Theodore to operate against the Persians in western Anatolia, while he returns to his own army in Pontus.
• August 7 – In the waters of the Golden Horn, the Persian fleet is destroyed while ferrying reinforcements. The Avars, having suffered terrible losses, running short of food and supplies, burn their siege engines. They abandon the siege and retreat to the Balkan Peninsula. The Byzantines achieve a decisive victory at Blachernae, under the protection of the Church of the Virgin Mary.
• Byzantine–Persian War: Heraclius, his army reduced by campaigning to less than 30,000 men, is on the defensive in Pontus. Apparently he leaves a strong Byzantine garrison in Trapezus, and withdraws north-eastward along the Black Sea into Colchis, where he halts the Persians by aggressive defensive-offensive operations along the Phasis River. By attracting the Persian army under Shahin Vahmanzadegan in Anatolia, he provides Theodore with the opportunity to defeat them. By the end of the summer he threatens the communication of the Persians at Chalcedon (modern Turkey).
• Heraclius invites the Croats, a Slavic tribe living in Galicia, Silesia, and Bohemia, to settle in Illyricum. They are given the land between the Drava River and the Adriatic Sea for ridding of Avars. The Serbs are allowed to move from their homeland north of the Carpathians to a territory east of the Croats. Heraclius asks Pope Honorius I to send missionaries to both groups.
• Winter – Heraclius makes an alliance with Tong Yabghu Qaghan, ruler (khagan) of the Western Turkic Khaganate, for a joint invasion of the Persian Empire the following spring. He promises his daughter Eudoxia Epiphania, age 15, in marriage to Tong Yabghu and sends her under escort with wondrous gifts.

• Arioald succeeds his brother-in-law Adaloald as king of the Lombards, and afterwards goes insane. Arioald has his wife locked up in a monastery, accusing her of plotting against him with Grasulf II, duke of Friuli (northern Italy).

• King Edwin of Northumbria defeats the West Saxons under Cynegils, who has tried to thwart the growing strength of Edwin by having him assassinated. Edwin obliges Cynegils to acknowledge Northumbria's supremacy.
• April 19 – Eanflæd, daughter of Edwin of Northumbria, is born at a royal residence by the River Derwent. She is baptised by Paulinus, bishop of York.
• Edwin of Northumbria invades the Isle of Man and then Anglesey. King Cadwallon is defeated in battle, and is besieged on Puffin Island.
• Edinburgh (Scotland) is founded by Edwin of Northumbria (approximate date).
• Penda becomes king of Mercia (approximate date).

• Summer – King Khosrau II plans an all-out effort against Constantinople. He returns to Anatolia with two armies of unknown size, presumably more than 50,000 men each. One of these (possibly commanded by Khosrau himself) is to contain Heraclius in Pontus; another under Shahin Vahmanzadegan is defeated by Theodore.

• July 2 – Li Shimin travels to the Tang capital Chang'an to bid farewell to his younger brother Li Yuanji, who has been given command of a Chinese expedition against the Eastern Turkic Khaganate. Hearing of a plot to murder him, he and a few supporters seize the northern entrance to the emperor's palace. Li Shimin ambushes and eliminates his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng, in the Xuanwu Gate Incident.
• September 4 – Emperor Gao Zu abdicates in favor of his son Li Shimin after an 8-year reign. He passes the throne to him (as Emperor Tai Zong).

• Spring – Byzantine–Sasanian War: Emperor Heraclius sweeps through southern Armenia with a 50,000-man expeditionary force, recapturing most of the Byzantine fortresses lost to the Persians ten and fifteen years earlier. The army of Shahrbaraz, still in Anatolia, is now cut off completely. Hearing from Byzantine agents (showing him letters) that King Khosrau II, dissatisfied with his failure to capture Constantinople, is planning to have him executed, he surrenders to Heraclius, refusing to join the Byzantine army against his ungrateful sovereign.
• Third Perso-Turkic War: The Göktürks and their Khazar allies (40,000 men) approach the Caspian Gates, and capture the Persian fortress at Derbent (modern Dagestan). Heraclius marches to the upper Tigris and invades the Persian heartland, leaving the Khazars under Tong Yabghu Qaghan to continue the siege of Tblilisi.
• December 12 – Battle of Nineveh: Heraclius crosses the Great Zab river and, in a feigned retreat, defeats the Persian army (12,000 men) under Rhahzadh, near the ruins of Nineveh (Iraq). Although wounded, Heraclius refuses to leave the battlefield, and in a final cavalry charge personally kills the Persian general.
• Winter – Heraclius plunders the city palace of Dastgerd (Iran) and gains tremendous riches (also recovering 300 captured Byzantine flags). He turns northeastward to Caucasian Albania to rest his army. Khosrau II flees to the mountains of Susiana, to rally support for the defense of the Persian capital Ctesiphon.

• King Eorpwald of East Anglia is murdered, and succeeded by Ricberht. He is a member of the East Anglian elite; during his rule paganism is re-established.
• April 12 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to Christianity by Bishop Paulinus of York, who previously saved his life.

• March 31 – Battle of the Trench: Muhammad successfully withstands a siege for 27 days at Medina, by Meccan forces (10,000 men) under Abu Sufyan, whose allies, the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza, ultimately surrender to Muhammad.

• April 12 – Paulinus, last of the missionaries sent by Pope Gregory I, builds a wooden church in the old Roman legionary headquarters in York, and baptises Edwin of Northumbria as the first Christian king in northern England.
• Fourth Council of Mâcon: A council of Christian bishops approves the Monastic Rule of Saint Columbanus in the city of Mâcon (Burgundy).
• Cunibert is elected bishop of Cologne. Throughout his episcopacy, monasticism flourishes in Austrasia (approximate date).

• St Peter's School, York, is founded by Paulinus.

• Spring – Byzantine–Sassanid War: Emperor Heraclius issues an ultimatum for peace to king Khosrau II, but he refuses his generous terms. The war-weary Persians revolt against Khosrau's regime at Ctesiphon and install his son Kavadh II to the throne. He puts his father to death and begins negotiations with Heraclius. Kavadh is forced to return all the territories conquered during the war. The Persians must give up all of the trophies they have captured, including the relic of the True Cross. Evidently there is also a large financial indemnity. Having accepted a peace agreement on his own terms, Heraclius returns in triumph to Constantinople.
• Third Perso-Turkic War: The Western Göktürks under their leader Tong Yabghu Qaghan plunder Tbilisi (modern Georgia). The Persian defenders are executed or mutilated, Tong Yabghu appoints governors (tuduns) to manage various tribes under his overlordship.

• Battle of Cirencester: King Penda of Mercia defeats the West Saxons at Cirencester (South West England) in what later will be Gloucestershire. After reaching an agreement, he takes control of the Severn Valley and the minor kingdom of the Hwicce.

• February 25 – Khosrau II, the last great king of the Sasanian Empire, is overthrown by his son Kavadh II.
• September 6 – Ardashir III, age 7, succeeds his father Kavadh II as the twenty-fourth king of the Sasanian Empire on the latter's death from plague.

• Muhammad, Islamic prophet, leads about 1,400 men on a pilgrimage to Mecca where their passage is blocked. The Quraysh tribe and the Muslim community in Medina sign a 10 year truce (Treaty of Hudaybiyyah).

• Brahmagupta writes the Brāmasphuțasiddhānta, an early, yet very advanced, math book.

• The Shariah enjoins women as well as men to obtain secular and religious educations. It forbids eating pork, domesticated donkey, and other flesh denied to Jews by Mosaic law (approximate date).

• Muhammad's letters to world leaders explain the principles of the new monotheistic Muslim faith, as they will be contained in his book, the Quran.

• September – Jerusalem is reconquered by the Byzantines (after 15 years of occupation), from the Persian Empire.
• September 14 – Emperor Heraclius enters Constantinople in triumph. In a ceremonial parade, accompanied by the True Cross, he is welcomed by the citizens and his son Heraclius Constantine.
• Heraclius styles himself as Basileus, Greek word for "sovereign", and takes the ancient title of "King of Kings", after his victory over Persia.

• King Chlothar II dies after a 16-year reign, and is succeeded by his son Dagobert I. Counseled by Bishop Arnulf of Metz and Pepin of Landen (Mayor of the Palace), he moves the capital to Paris.
• Charibert II, half-brother of Dagobert I, becomes king of Aquitaine (Southern France), and establishes his capital at Toulouse. Charibert's realm also includes Agen, Cahors, and Périgueux.

• Battle of Fid Eoin: King Connad Cerr of Dál Riata is killed by the Dál nAraidi of the over-kingdom of Ulaid in north-eastern Ireland (approximate date).

• Summer – Muhammad, Islamic unifies all nomadic tribes of the Arabian Peninsula, converts them to Islam and prepares an expedition against the Jews.
• May–June – Battle of Khaybar: Muhammad and his followers defeat the Jews living in the fortified oasis at Khaybar, located 150 kilometers from Medina.
• September – Battle of Mu'tah: The Muslims fail to take the lands east of the Jordan River, and are pushed back near Mu'tah by the Ghassanids.

• April 27 – Shahrbaraz usurps the throne of the Sasanian Empire from Ardashir III, but is himself deposed forty days later by nobility in favour of Borandukht. Khosrow III briefly rules Khorasan in the confusion, until he is assassinated by the governor of the province.
• Winter – Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty launches a campaign against the Eastern Turkic Khaganate (Central Asia).
• Emperor Jomei succeeds his great aunt, empress Suiko, and ascends to the throne of Japan.

• The Maya military outpost of Dos Pilas (Guatemala) is founded, in order to control trade routes in the Petexbatún region. Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil is installed as its leader by his father, K'inich Muwaan Jol II, the ruler of Tikal.

• Xuanzang, Chinese Buddhist monk, sets out for India from the Tang dynasty capital Chang'an on a pilgrimage.
• Muhammad meets Al-Khansa', Arabic poet, and converts her to Islam.

In archaeology, the classic Maya collapse was the destabilization of Classic Maya civilization and the violent collapse and abandonment of many southern lowlands city-states between the 7th and 9th centuries CE. Not all Mayan city-states collapsed, but there was a period of instability for the cities that survived. At Ceibal, the Preclassic Maya experienced a similar collapse in the 2nd century.

The Classic Period of Mesoamerican chronology is generally defined as the period from 250 to 900 CE, the last century of which is referred to as the Terminal Classic. The Classic Maya collapse is one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in archaeology. Urban centers of the southern lowlands, among them Palenque, Copán, Tikal, and Calakmul, went into decline during the 8th and 9th centuries and were abandoned shortly thereafter. Archaeologically, this decline is indicated by the cessation of monumental inscriptions and the reduction of large-scale architectural construction at the primary urban centers of the Classic Period.